By Suresh G. Nair, MD, Chair
Suresh G. Nair, MD, Chair of the ABIM Medical Oncology Board, is Physician-in-Chief of the Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute (LVCI) in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and leads the health network’s academic programs. Dr. Nair is the Medical Director of the LVCI membership in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Alliance and has practiced oncology in the community setting for 27 years.
Part of what I love about medical oncology is the constant stream of discovery that enables us to provide more options to our patients. Advances in early detection, developments in immunotherapy and cutting-edge clinical trials help us to extend our patients’ lives and provide them with hope. It is a specialty where things move fast, and it is important we stay abreast of the latest developments in the cancers we see most in practice.
ABIM is working to ensure oncologists know what they need to know by creating assessments that provide a means for us to confirm our medical knowledge is current in the areas we see most frequently.
Today, on behalf of the Medical Oncology Board, I am pleased to share that ABIM will develop two new assessment options for oncologists: a version of the Medical Oncology Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) that focuses on breast cancer and another that focuses on hematologic neoplasms. The target launch of these new LKAs is July 2026.
To date, physicians have had only the “general” Medical Oncology LKA available to them covering the same distribution of topics as the traditional exam. We’ve heard feedback from the community that this assessment doesn’t always align with what they see in practice, especially those who choose to subspecialize.
This new assessment option is the result of an evidence-based process through which extensive data were collected from the medical oncology community and analyzed to determine which focused areas would be most beneficial to the majority of oncologists.
Two data collection methods were used to determine the scope of practice and what would reflect practice for the most medical oncologists today: physician surveys and Medicare claims. The Medical Oncology Board reviewed all the data and decided that an assessment that focuses on breast cancer and another on hematologic neoplasms would be valuable to the medical oncology community. ABIM will continually be evaluating focused practice patterns in the disciplines of internal medicine as medicine evolves.
I want to extend a special thanks to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for attending the ABIM Medical Oncology Board meetings and continuing to engage in a dialogue about the learning needs of today’s practicing oncologist, including the development of disease-focused LKAs.
Your options based on assessment due dates
- If you are due for an assessment in 2025
- If you are interested in one of the new LKAs, you should enroll in the general Medical Oncology LKA as soon as you can. Enrollment is open for all assessments, sign in to your Physician Portal to sign up. If you have already signed up for the traditional exam, you can unregister and enroll in the LKA on your Physician Portal.
- When the new LKAs becomes available, you can switch to one of them as long as you are meeting the LKA Participation Requirement, and continue your 5-year. ABIM will be in touch with more detailed information about when and how to switch closer to launch.
- You can also choose to take the long-form exam in medical oncology in the year your assessment is due, but that option does not offer a version of the assessment with a focus on breast cancer or hematologic neoplasms. Keep in mind that taking and passing the exam means your next assessment will be due 10 years later (2035) and you will not be eligible to take the LKA, including the focused assessments, during that time.
- If you are due for an assessment in 2026
- Enroll in the general Medical Oncology LKA on or after December 1, 2025, and switch when the new focused LKAs become available. If you continue to meet the LKA Participation Requirement and all other MOC requirements, you will remain certified through 2031.
- You can register for the traditional, 10-year MOC exam if you prefer. If you pass the exam, you will not be eligible to take any version of the Medical Oncology LKA for 10 years (2036).
If you are interested in helping to shape this new assessment, consider joining the Medical Oncology Item-Writing Task Force. Item-writers are essential to the development of ABIM assessments.
We understand you may have questions, and we will keep the community updated through the ABIM Blog, emails and summaries from the Medical Oncology Board meetings throughout the development process. Most importantly, diplomates who are due for an assessment will receive reminders and further information from ABIM as the due dates come closer.
Thank you to everyone in the community who provided feedback and suggestions that helped inform this decision. And thank you most of all for your commitment to the profession and the patients we serve.